Responding to a Show Cause Request: Your Guide

1. When would a university ask you to “show cause”?

In Australian universities, a show cause request is usually sent when the university is concerned about your ability to continue in your course – most often because of unsatisfactory academic progress.

Different universities define this slightly differently, but common triggers include:

• Failing multiple units or too many units overall

  • e.g. failing several units across consecutive teaching periods, or failing the same core unit more than once.

• Meeting formal “unsatisfactory progress” criteria

  • For example, your progress review shows you’ve hit certain failure/GPA thresholds that trigger intervention under academic progress rules.

• Not meeting conditions previously set

  • For example, you were put on monitored or conditional enrolment, given an Academic Improvement Plan, and your latest results still don’t meet the conditions.

• Approaching the maximum time to complete your course

  • If you’re nearing the time limit for completion and are still behind progression expectations.

In many universities, the show cause request will be linked to a Notice of Intention to Exclude. If you don’t respond, you can be automatically excluded for a period, or even permanent exclusion, and may have limited appeal rights.

For international students, exclusion can also affect your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) and, in turn, your student visa, so it’s especially important to respond and get advice early.

2. Before you start writing: do these three things

Step A – Read the email and policy carefully

Go through your show cause or Intention to Exclude letter and highlight:

• The deadline and how to submit (online form, email, portal upload, etc.)

• Which rules you’ve triggered (e.g. “unsatisfactory academic progress,” “three consecutive sessions of poor results,” or similar)

• The possible outcomes (e.g. allowed to continue with conditions, reduced load, exclusion, etc.)

Then, find your university’s Academic Progress Policy or Show Cause guide (they’re usually linked in the email). It will tell you what they expect in your response and what they’ll consider.

Step B – Get support

You don’t have to do this alone. You can often speak to:

• A student advocacy or student care service at your university

• A course coordinator, academic advisor, or progression officer

• Health professionals you’re seeing (GP, psychologist, counsellor)

• External advocacy services like us, Academic Appeal Specialist, who specialise in academic appeals and show cause matters.

Step C – Gather your evidence

Before you write, collect documents that can support what you’re going to say, such as:

• Medical certificates, psychologist/counsellor letters

• Letters about work changes, financial hardship, caring responsibilities

• Emails with lecturers or supervisors

• Academic support or disability support plans

• Any plans or timetables you’ve already put in place to improve your studies

You don’t need evidence for every single sentence, but you do want documents to back up key claims, especially around health, major life events and your future study plan.

3. How to structure a strong show cause response

Think of your response as a formal letter or written statement that covers four big questions:

1. What happened? (the situation)

2. How did it affect your study? (the impact)

3. What has changed? (why it should be different now)

4. What is your plan from here? (future strategies and support)

A simple structure:

1. Header & greeting

2. Opening paragraph – what you’re responding to and what you’re asking for

3. Section 1: Circumstances (what happened)

4. Section 2: Impact on your studies

5. Section 3: What has changed

6. Section 4: Future plan and strategies

7. Closing paragraph

8. Attachments / evidence list

Final thoughts

Receiving a show cause request feels scary, but it is also a structured chance to tell your story and show the university:

• why your results don’t reflect your true potential,

• what you’ve already done to fix the underlying problems, and

• why things will be different from now on.

If your situation is complex, or you’re unsure how to frame your circumstances and evidence, consider getting professional advocacy support. Services like Academic Appeal Specialist focus specifically on academic appeals, show cause processes and related matters, and can help you analyse your case, structure your response, and navigate the procedure ethically and strategically.